Oranges
by The Sheikah Bandit
Summary: An old time resident returns to Castanet, sparking an interest in Chase.   *Summary is bad.
1. Chapter 1

"Holy crap." A small woman muttered, staring at the decrepit house in front of her. The shingles from the roof were falling off and the paint on the wood chipping away. The stairs had a gaping hole in them and weeds littered the front lawn. This place had definitely gotten worse since the last time she saw it.

"Jeez. Grandma wasn't kidding when she said this place could use some work." The lady said to herself, cautiously pushing a rusty key into the key hole. The door creaked up, revealing a dusty old house with wall paper practically peeling off. The bed looked moldy and the floor was soaking wet, probably from the rain from last night. Okay, so this place could use a _lot _of work.

"Molly! Molly Novette!" A voice called out from behind her. A short, plump man with gray hair walked in behind her, a big smile on his face. It was almost as if he didn't see the condition the house was in.

"So, as you can see, the house needs... a lot of work. So I've taken the liberty of booking you a night at The Ocarina Inn, free of charge of course." the man, otherwise known as the Mayor, said. Molly breathed a sigh of relief and gave the short man a small smile.

"Thank you very much. I'm sure I could start working on this house tomorrow evening. I'm really tired right now." Molly said. As if on cue, a yawn escaped her lips.

"Perfectly understandable! You do know where The Ocarina Inn is right? Hasn't been that long after all." The Mayor laughed.

"Yes of course. Well, I'm going to get going. Good evening Mr. Hamilton!" Molly said, bowing as she picked up her suitcase.

A year ago, her grandmother had died, leaving her with the deed to her farm, Blue Ranch. She'd expected the place to be run down but she hadn't expected it to be in this condition. It was deplorable. There wasn't any way any one could live safely in that house. Sighing, she watched as the Harmonica Town came into view. If there was anything she remembered about this place, it was how long it took to get from Point A to Point B. Trudging her suitcase, she walked quickly across the stone bridge. It was getting late after all, and she was exhausted. Not to mention all the work that needed to be done tomorrow. It was disheartening just to think about it. Finally, Molly made it to the Inn. She opened the door quickly and rubbed her eyes, trying to stay awake.

"Well, if it isn't Miss Molly Novette!" A petite girl in a bouncy pink dress said. She has braids coming out of her blonde hair and her porcelain skin had not one scratch in it.

"And if it isn't Maya Cowalski!" Molly replied, dropping her bags. Forgetting about how tired she was at the moment, Molly ran to give the small girl a hug. It'd been ages since they last talked. It was almost funny how this town picked up the pace right where you left off.

"So, how was the Big City treating you?" Maya said, pulling a chair out for her.

"It's good! Crowded, hard to breath and faster, but I liked it quite a lot." Molly said. It'd been six years since she last visited the island. After that she moved to the City with her mother.

"Sorry to hear bout your Grandma. Wonderful lady." Maya said solemnly. Molly waved it off.

"It's okay. It's been a year after all. So how's Castanet doing anyway?" Maya sighed and looked down.

"Not too good...the fires haven't been burning, the ground hasn't been producing anything and the waters are too rough to sail on. We're not getting any business." Maya said seriously. Molly couldn't believe her ears. All this in the amount of time she was gone? Was that even possible?

"Personally, I think it's because the Goddess Tree is dying, but...no one wants to believe that. They think The Harvest Goddess is just an old wives tale." Maya sighed. The Goddess Tree dying? A lot of things sure have changed since she was last here. Before she could add her two cents in, however, the door opened and in entered a young fellow with hair the color of a peach. Wispy pieces of his hair were pinned back with hair clips, and he worse a navy blue apron. A scowl was etched on his face and he entered without saying hello to anybody. Just who exactly was this man?

"That's Chase." Maya whispered to Molly.

"Is he always...?"

"In a bad mood? Yes. I think you should go say hello to him though. It's only nice." Maya shrugged. Sighing and not really wanting to, Molly got up from her comfortable seat at the table and walked to the counter where Chase was cleaning up. He slowly lifted his head up, the same annoyed scowl on his face.

"Hello! My name's Molly Novette! I'm a new Rancher! It's very nice to meet you!" she said pleasantly, extending her hand. He looked at her hand as if it were the most disgusting thing in the world and continued cleaning.

"And I care...?" An annoyed look crossed Molly's face.

"Well...I like your hair clips. They're...nice looking?" Molly said, trying not to insult the man. Chase flashed her a sarcastic smile before the scowl returned to his face.

"Don't you have a ranch to tend to?"

"I'm staying here for the night...my house kind of isn't ready to move into." Molly replied.

"Oh, that's just great." Chase said sarcastically. As she was a bit of a bit of a hot head, Molly rolled her eyes, feeling her face get red.

"Well, it was nice meeting you." Molly said civilly.

"I'm sad to say I can't say the same." Chase replied curtly, now looking away from her. Taking a deep breath in to calm herself, Molly turned around and headed toward the stairs.

"See ya in the morning Maya! Are you going to help me out with the house tomorrow?" Molly said, dragging her suitcase up the stairs.

"Of course! Good night Molly!" The blonde haired girl said, smiling at her.

**()()()()()()**

Sunlight seeped into the Inn room that Molly was sleeping in. The light made her hair appear more chestnut-y and warmed her body up. A rapid knocking on the door woke her up from her dream, which was rather pleasant. Sad to be woken up so abruptly, Molly sighed and jumped out of bed.

"I'm coming, calm down!" she said, as the person at the door was still knocking.

"Well get out of bed faster." a stark voice returned. Oh god him again.

"On second thought, I think I'll just stay here for a little while." Molly replied sharply.

"Whatever. Maya told me to wake up you up." Chase said, frustration clear in his voice. Sighing, Molly trifled through her suitcase and pulled out an outfit. Quickly slipping on her work boots, she opened the door to see that the blonde man was still waiting by the room.

"Took you long enough." he said under his breath. Rolling her eyes, the brunette woman walked in front of him and down to the dining area, where Maya was cleaning a table. When she saw Molly she smiled and dropped the cloth in her hand.

"Great! You're up! So we're ready to go! Chase, you're going to cover my shift okay?" Maya said. Flabbergasted and angry, Chase searched for words to say, only managing to come up with a weak "No!."

"Thanks! Love you too! Bye Chase!" Maya said, quickly whisking Molly out of the Inn door. Giggling, the blonde girl smiled at Molly. Molly giggled along with her and the two girls headed in the direction of Blue Ranch.

"So Chase is...quite the character." the brunette woman said, struggling to find words to describe him.

"He can be nice. You just met him, that's all." Maya replied sympathetically. Soon enough the two arrived at The Ranch. It was in the same mess that it was yesterday, if not worse. Winds from that night had carried away some of the flowers that were growing on the ranch and more singles had blown off of the roof. Taking a deep breath in, Molly sighed.

"We can do this. It'll take a little work, but we can do this." she said, mostly to herself.

"That's the spirit, I'll start cleaning in the house and you'll start on the weeds, okay?" Maya said, heading toward the broken down home.

"Sounds like a plan."

**()()()()()()**

It was only twelve o'clock and the two girls were exhausted. Molly's hands were nearly raw and her back hurt from having to bend up and painstakingly pick all the weeds by herself. Maya's dress was covered in dirt and filth. Cleaning the house proved harder than it looked. However, the Ranch was in a better state than it was before, managing to look presentable. The rows of flowers that still stayed intact after the wind looked pretty and she'd managed to get rid of most of the weeds. The house's floor was cleaned up and the dirt all gone. The bed was now clean and the walls bleach and wiped down. Someone from the Carpenter's would be coming to fix the roof later on. Happy to see her house is a livable condition, Molly smiled to Maya.

"This place looks soo much better. Thanks so much Maya!" Molly said. The two were sitting in lawn chairs on the porch. Despite the hole in rotting wood, they found it comfortable to sit outside than inside the safety of her house. Before anyone could saying anything more, the blond man from the Inn came into view of the girls. He was holding a Styrofoam box and had to bottles of liquid in his hands. He had a pissed off look on his face and Molly could see him glaring at her from the distance.

"Yeah. Sure he's nice." the brunette woman said sarcastically. Maya pursed her lips and tried to smile.

"I'm sure it's just the heat that's getting to him." she said, trying to come up with excuses for the young man. Soon Chase hobbled his way to the porch, holding the box of food in his hand.

"Special delivery for Miss Novette." he said bitterly, handing Molly the box as he glared at her.

"Uh...thanks I guess." Molly said, trying to avoid his stare.

"My pleasure." he said sarcastically. With that, he turned around and headed in the direction of his house, which was located in Flute Fields. Maya and Molly sat in silence for a second, before someone finally spoke.

"Yup. Definitely the heat." Molly said flatly. Maya gulped.

"Hey, shouldn't Luke and Bo be here already? It's been 3 hours since we called them." Maya said, suddenly changing the subject. She was right. They should have been here already.

"Yeah. Maybe we should head over to Dale's and see what's going on." Molly said, standing up.

"Oh, aren't we going to eat that?" Maya said, pointing to the box.

"Well, we can eat it later. No sense in doing that now considering how far away Dale's is." Molly shrugged.

"Oh, well why don't we take it with us? We can eat it on the way." Maya suggested, dusting her dress off.

"Well...alright I guess." the brunette woman said. The two woman took off, heading in the direction of Garmon Mines. Although it had been a while since she was last here, Molly could remember perfectly where everything was.

"Hey, what's going on there?" Maya said, pointing to an exasperated Bo. The young boy turned around and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Well, the uh, the bridge is out."


	2. Chapter 2

**Whoops forgot its bells in this. Pretend I said bells. **

**()()()()**

"The bridge is out?" Molly exclaimed, eyes widened. Her hands dropped to her sides and she gave an exasperated sigh.

"Yeah...the wind last night blew off a couple of boards." Bo said sheepishly. Next to him was a tool box and a few planks of wood.

"So, you are going to repair it, right?" Maya asked.

"Sure...but I am hungry. I think I'll stop by the Inn and get some food...unless you have some, by any chance." Bo said, gesturing toward the box in Maya's hands. The young lady rolled her eyes.

"Fine. Just fix it fast okay, we wanna get this house done by night." Maya said, handing Bo the white box.

"No problem." Bo replied absentmindedly. Disregarding any manners he once had, the blonde boy dug into the food, stuffing it into his mouth.

"Thith ith good." he said, mouth stuffed. Rolling their eyes, the girls waited until the boy had finished eating. Once done, Bo licked his fingers and smiled at them.

"I'll be done in a few. Why don't you guys find something else to do until then?" Bo said, picking up his tool box. Sighing, Maya nodded.

"Fine. Come on Molly, we can stop by Marimba Farm to pick up some seeds for your farm while we wait." the young girl said, straightening out her dress. Molly nodded and followed her friend down the dusty path back to her ranch.

"I'm sure this is because of the bells going missing" Maya said in a hushed tone, suddenly serious.

"What? How can you be sure?" Molly said hesitantly, unwilling to believe Maya. There was no way the Bells were missing. Them missing would mean the island itself dying. It would mean an end to everything these islanders have ever known. Deep down though, Molly knew there was truth to what Maya was saying.

"I don't know. But it must be a sign from the Harvest Goddess! It has to be!" Maya said hopefully.

**()()()()()()**

"Oh, Molly. How nice to see you." Ruth Baker said flatly as she and Maya walked into Marimba Farm. The woman had definitely aged since the last time she saw her. Her hair was now a short cut and wrinkles tugged as her face. She seemed to be getting more frail and her eyes looked less lively and more tired. This was definitely not the happy woman Molly had remembered.

"Er, hello Ruth. I came to pick up some seeds. I'm running grandma's ranch now." Molly said awkwardly, trying not to stare at the unhappy woman. The older lady sighed and stood up from her stool behind the counter.

"We have strawberries, turnips, potatoes, tulips and pansies in stock. Chose your poison." Ruth said, clearly bored.

"That's it?" Molly stated, flabbergasted.

"Obviously." Ruth said, rolling her eyes.

"O-okay. I'll take a couple five of everything." Molly said. Ruth sighed.

"You're gonna run me dry kid." she muttered beneath her breath. Awkwardly standing around, Molly glanced at Maya, who was staring at framed pictures of the Baker family.

"Hey, Mrs. Baker, where's Anissa?" Maya asked curiously, now turning her attention to the older woman.

"She traveled to the mainland for some things for the farm." Ruth said curtly. Anyone could tell that she did not want to dwell on the matter. Maya took the hint and closed her mouth, regretting saying having said anything. After a few more seconds of Ruth rustling through boxes, she had finally gathered all of the seeds Molly asked for.

"Thanks so much Mrs. Baker!" she said politely, hurrying Maya out the door.

"Well isn't she just awful!" Maya said, now angry. Molly pursed her lips and nodded.

"I remember her being a lot nicer all those years ago."

"She was. Ever since the soil stopped producing, she and her husband have been getting into so many fights." Maya stated, the two happy to be out of the old woman's store. As they began to approach the stone bridge that connected Flute Fields to Blues Ranch, a skinny figure came into view. A skinny figure with peach hair and a scowl to be exact. Next to him was a shorter blue haired man, excited. Molly could tell from a mile away who that was. A big smile spread across her face as she darted across the fields to the man.

"Molly!"

"Luke!" Molly said happily, giving her old best friend a hug as she approached him. The two used to be inseparable when they were kids. They played pranks together, they played sports together, they pretty much did everything together. In fact, he (along with Maya) was the only one Molly had bothered to keep in contact with after leaving the island forever.

"Molls! It's been, like, forever since you've been here! Sorry about Gram by the way." Luke said, bowing his head at the last part.

"Goddess I know! But you haven't written me in freakin months!" Molly laughed, playfully smacking his arm. Before any more could be exchanged between the two rekindling friends, Chase cleared his throat.

"Ahem. I'm not your little messenger. Just putting it out there. Good day all of you. Well, except for you." Chase said, narrowing his eyes at Molly. With that, the slender man walked away from the three in the direction of his home, conveniently located next to Marimba Farm.

"Uhh...well anyway, sorry! Mails been slow getting and leaving here, what with the storms and all. I'm surprised you even managed to get to the island. We've practically had to put a hold on shipping indefinitely." Luke said, joking only a little bit. Molly frowned, not wanting to think about the thought of the Goddess Tree actually dying.

"So about my house...how fast can you and Bo fix it?" Molly asked. Luke grinned, sliding his arm around her shoulder.

"We'll have it done in no time." he said smootly.

**()()()()()()()()**

'No time' was right. The patch in the roof was fixed in minutes and the new floors were coming out wonderfully. Jake and Eileen from the Inn insisted on giving Molly old furniture considering they were throwing some out anyway. Seeing as she didn't have a bed, or anything for that matter, Molly agreed and right now, Luke was helping her bring in the furniture.

"So tell me about the city." Luke said, trying to avoid crushing his own feet.

"Well...it's a lot faster than it is here. There's stores on every corner and its crowded. The people are ruder and I really missed Castanet." Molly said.

"Aw. Well, glad you're back buddy! Now we can back to pranking people!" Luke said, sticking his tongue out at the brunette woman.

"For sure! Thanks for all your help Luke, Bo! I really appreciate being able to sleep under a roof that won't flood my new house!" Molly said gratefully as she stared longingly at the bed. After working around the clock all day, she was exhausted and just about ready to go to sleep. Luke and Bo smiled and nodded, both of them tired from the day's work. Maya had left a long while ago to finish her shift at the Inn so Molly was finally alone in her own home. Smiling, she dug a pair of shorts and an old yellow tank top out from her suitcase. Running a brush through her hair, she looked in the mirror, pleased with her appearance.

"MISS!" a high pitched voice suddenly screamed, snapping Molly out of her thoughts. She suddenly began to panic.

"Who's there?" she said hesitantly, raising her fists defensively. Suddenly, a small, pixie like..._boy_ sprang in front of her, wearing a yellow outfit accompanied with a hat of the same color. His wings fluttered furiously and freckles were splattered across his pasty, rosy face.

"Who the hell are you?" Molly exclaimed, scrambling to get away from the thing.

"My name is Finn, and you're going to help me restore the Bells!" he said excitedly, buzzing closer to Molly. The young farmer's eyes twitched in doubt and she shook her head.

"What? I can't fix that. I don't even know where the bells are!" Molly said quickly.

"Silly! That's why I'm here; to help you!" Finn said, light following his trail around the room. Molly

shook her head again. No, no, no, no, no. There was no way this was actually happening.

"Uhm...can we...can we talk about this later? I need some air." Molly said, slipping on a jacket and her boots. Before the sprite could answer, Molly was out the door and running in the direction of Brass Bar.

**()()()()()()()**

"I need anything with alcohol in it." Molly said desperately to the man behind the bar counter.

"Unfortunately the only thing we have are fruity drinks. So, no alcohol for you." the peach haired man said, surprising Molly. She hadn't realized it was him when she sat by the bar.

"Stop fucking around." Molly said, running out of patience.

"As much as I wish I was kidding, I'm not. You can only get it on the mainland." Chase said seriously as he wiped the counter down. Groaning, the brunette farmer slammed her head down on the bar.

"How do you live like this?" she said beneath her breath.

"Visit the mainland a lot." Chase shrugged, losing interest in his customer.

"How much does it cost to visit the mainland?"

Hmm. 'Bout two hundred G a ticket." Chase said, cleaning a dirty mug. Molly's mouth gaped open. All that money just to visit the mainland?

"But you can't anyway. Ships aren't allowed to leave port with the waves and all." Chase said, making Molly want to slam her head against the table. The lack of drinking on this island was going to make her stay unbearable.

"So there's no way of getting wasted on this island?" Molly asked, now desperate.

"Nope." Chase replied, not bothering to look at her.

**()()()()()()**

The next morning, Molly awoke to the sprite, Finn, snoozing on her desktop.

"Oh god you're still here?" Molly groaned, rubbing her eyes.

"You're the won chosen by the Goddess! You'll see! Let's go to the Goddess Spring and she can tell you all about it!" Finn said, sticking his tongue out. Molly rolled her eyes and grabbed her outfit from a suitcase. She had yet to unpack anything and didn't plan on doing so for a while.

"Fine. But I have work to do right now. Maybe later, when I'm done." Molly said, heading to the bathroom to clean herself up. The young farmer ran her fingers through her short brown hair. Just before she had left the city she had gotten it drastically cut, to the point where almost none of her family members could recognize her. Molly adored the new cut and so did her cousin, Angela. Her brother, Kasey, didn't like it as much as her. In fact, he and her other cousin, Kevin, were mad when she arrived at their apartment sporting the do. Rolling her eyes at the memory, Molly turned the shower off and wrapped a fuzzy towel around her body. Rubbing herself dry, she slid into her clean clothes, happy that they fit snugly.

Molly exited the bathroom and reached for her boots, which were sitting by the front door. They were dirty from last night's work, and she didn't want to track mud into her new house. The farmer stepped outside to a light breeze and warm air. There were barely any clouds in the sky and the air smelled of fresh grass. Picking up the water can and hoe from the porch, Molly sauntered to the farmland. Small buds had began to grow in the ground and tulips from last year had already sprung up. Happy that she already had something to ship, Molly dug up the flowers, before watering everything else. It took up an hour for her to finish watering all of the new crops, but it was worth it. She removed the dirtied gloves from her hands and smiled at the farm, feeling accomplished.

"Hiya Molly! My mom and dad wanted to see you!" a female voice called out, catching Molly's attention. She turned around to see Renee, a girl around her age, waving at her. The girl had short, edge straight dark brown hair and hazel eyes. She had a courteous smile and wore a worn dress and scuffed boots.

"Hello! I'll be there in a second!" Molly called out. She rushed over to Renee's side, wondering what her parents could want. It had been a while since the two talked. They weren't really friends when Molly lived on the Island, but the one thing she could remember was Renee having a crush on the silver haired boy, Toby. It only took a couple of minutes before the two arrived at Horn Ranch.

"Molly Novette!" Cain Garth said, smiling at the young farmer.

"Mr. Garth, so nice to see you again!" Molly replied, flashing him a phony smile.

"So, about a year ago, your grandmother purchased a cow from us. Since she died, the wife and I have been taking care of her; it'd be a shame to let 'er die, y'know? So now that you're running the ranch, I was wonderin' if you'd like the cow. Her name's Matilda." Cain said, leading Molly into the barn.

"She's the brown cow." Cain said, pointing to Matilda.

"Well, um, sure. I guess. I could always use the milk." Molly said, staring at the large creature. Its horns looked as if it could pierce her skin, and she was slightly nervous being next to it.

"Great! How about I supply you with a month's worth of hay? It's only fair, what with you being new and all. I'll bring her over later tonight." Cain said.

**()()()()()()()()**

"Are you done yet?" Finn sighed, rolling his eyes at the brunette girl. Molly was busy making a lunch set for herself. It was simple; a small sandwich with a side of milk, courtesy of Horn Ranch. After all, she had been working hard all day. A meal in between wouldn't hurt. Molly rolled her eyes at the impatient sprite and continued to gnaw on her sandwich. She really was hungry and the milk from Horn Ranch was tasty. She suspected the milk to be strawberry, but she was unsure. Finally finished with her lunch, Molly tossed the dishes into the sink and wiped her mouth with her arm.

"Great! Now we can stop by the Goddess Spring!" Finn said excitedly, grabbing onto Molly's fingers. Rolling her eyes, the brunette woman followed him, slamming her door shut behind them as the exited. Finn lead Molly up the winding path to the bridge, which was fixed quite nicely if she did say so herself. Rushing to keep up with the sprite, she ran down another path near Dale's Carpentry.

"This should be the path! The Goddess will be so delighted to see you!" Finn said, practically buzzing.

"Yeah sure." Molly said, now slightly worried as the two dove under overgrown bushes. After a few more minutes of silent walking, Finn and Molly arrived at a large area with stone pillars. There were four stones in the sparkling water that formed a land bridge leading up to a willow tree. Like Molly assumed, there was no one there.

"Oh relax. She's coming." Finn said. True to his words, a light flashed between the two. Soon multiple lights flashed before turning into a pale woman. She was tall, legs long and bare. She had sea green hair that flowed beautifully and her dress looked like it fit wonderfully on her body. Molly was flabbergasted. She was real. And she was standing right before her.


End file.
